America’s Library – The Library of Congress

May 26th, 2011 by Larry T. Nix No comments »

I've mentioned my philatelic exhibit about the Library of Congress which I titled "America's Library - The Library of Congress" several times previously on this blog. In preparation for a presentation I will be making next week to the Washington (D.C.) Stamp Collectors Club on the exhibit, I've scanned some of the pages from the exhibit and placed them on my website.  Feel free to take a look. The entire exhibit will be on display at the NAPEX Stamp Show, June 3-5, at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner in McLean, VA. The page from the exhibit shown above features a stampless cover mailed by Samuel Taggart, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, on Oct. 20, 1814. A notation on the inside of the cover indicates the letter (which is not included) provided the "particulars of burning of Washington by British ...".  This, of course, included the burning of the Library of Congress which was housed in the Capitol. An illustration of that action by the British from the Dec., 1872 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine is also included on this exhibit page.

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My Thomas S. Shaw Collection of Covers and Correspondence

May 25th, 2011 by Larry T. Nix No comments »
A few years ago I acquired a collection of several dozen covers (envelopes) and letters mailed to Thomas S. Shaw, a longtime Library of Congress staff member and later a professor at the Library School of Louisiana State University. They cover a forty year period starting in the early 1930s and going to the early 1970s. This was a major windfall for a collector of postal librariana. I wrote about the relationship of Shaw and George Elsey, an aide to both Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, on my Library History Buff website as a result of several items in the Shaw collection. The relationship between Shaw and Elsey involved Shaw's clandestine research for Elsey as a reference librarian at the Library of Congress on behalf of Roosevelt.  My Shaw collection also includes personal correspondence to Shaw from a number of Library of Congress staff members including former Librarian of Congress Luther Evans. The item from the collection which is shown in this post is a thank you note to Shaw from Blanche McCrum (1887-1969) who retired from the Library of Congress in 1955. McCrum is listed in the Dictionary of American Library Biography Supplement (Libraries Unlimited, 1990).  McCrum concludes her note to Shaw with: "Many thanks, too, for your unfailing professional kindness through the years.  You are never too busy to help, and you know those resources so well. May you live long and prosper in the great institution we both love." Shaw received the Isadore Gilbert Mudge Award in 1968 for making a distinguished contribution to reference librarianship. It is a privilege to have a personal glimpse into the life of such a distinguished librarian of the not too distant past.

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Library Hours, Summer 2011

May 24th, 2011 by Colette Hayes No comments »
Photo by Shawn Calhoun

Hooray! It’s summer! Have some extra time to read a fun book, look at a magazine, watch a movie, play a video game, try a new recipe? Need resources for a summer session class? Dance on into the library! We’re open! Click here for our summer hours.


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Construction: Events Plaza in Front of the Library

May 23rd, 2011 by Randy Souther No comments »

New Plaza Relocation

As the Harney plaza will be off line for the next two years the University will be recreating event space on the lawn in front of Gleeson Library. This work will begin on Monday with the installation of the chain link fence. The fire lane that runs from the northwest edge of Kalmanovitz to the Fromm building will be closed off. This work will be completed during the summer, but there will be alternate pedestrian paths during this work. This work involves the removal of part of the lawn and the installation of pavers, additional lighting and other site improvements.

From the Project Management construction blog.


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NYPL’s Bldg. at 5th Ave. & 42nd St. on Postcards

May 23rd, 2011 by Larry T. Nix No comments »
I thought I would do one more post on the New York Public Library's building located at 5th Ave. & 42nd St. since this is the actual day of the centennial celebration for the building. I don't know how many different postcard views of this iconic building exist but there are dozens, maybe hundreds. I deliberately only have a few postcards showing the 5th Avenue building (I have to be selective).  The one shown here is my favorite. It was mailed to the American Barracks in Tientsin, China on May 2, 1933, probably to a postcard collector since it doesn't have a message, only the name of the sender. As a bibliophilatelist, I like the fact that the postage stamps are on the front of the postcard, something you probably couldn't get away with today. The postcard shows the hustle and bustle of 5th Ave., and the back of the card notes that "Fifth Avenue and 42nd St., is the busiest crossing in the city where traffic is heavy at all hours of the day and night."  The ideal corner for where a public library should be located. Also prominently displayed on the postcard is the 300 Fifth Ave. Building.  The back of the card notes that this 38 story office building has 1,000 windows overlooking the public library and Bryant Park. For more postcard views of the NYPL at 5th Ave. & 42nd St. click HERE (Judy Aulik) and HERE (Sharon McQueen). I've also written a previous post about NYPL postcards. Most of my collection of artifacts related to the New York Public Library are postal items other than postcards, but a wide variety of souvenir items related to the New York Public Library exist and offer a great collecting opportunity. 

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